Drabble
by Brian1
Summary: Ash and Gary have a chat about growing up, as well as the little things in life.


**Author's Note**: Gary certainly has changed a lot on the show, since he's now one of Ash's many friends. Since Ash and Gary are going to talk in this short story, it's not exactly out of character for them anymore. This is my first time using a Gary point-of-view…so yeah. Um, insert evil laughter here.

-                       **Drabble**                       -

-                       **By Brian                     -**

A small smile flickered on my face as a familiar figure emerged from the doorway. "Well, well, it seems that someone has decided to take a vacation from training, eh?"

            Ash put his hands to the pack of his head and smiled. "It's kind of like that. May thought it would be nice if we could visit my hometown, and since the Hoenn League Tournament doesn't start until a month leaves me plenty of time to-"

            "Catch up with old friends?" I finished, motioning for Ash to sit down on the couch adjacent to my chair, "I'd have to say that I'm touched Ash, I never expected you to visit me-"

            "We're friends again, Gary. A friend visits a friend, even if that friend used to have an ego the size of Mt. Silver." he says, a slight smirk on his face.

            Grrr. I won't let you get away with that, Ash Ketchum.

            "Sooooo…" I say casually, looking him right into the eyes as I do so, "You and May…May and you…is it what it looks like?"

            His face becomes as red as a Scizor, confirming my suspicions. I had always assumed that he would get together with that red-haired girl, but apparently things didn't turn out that way. 

            "What are you trying to say?" he asks meekly, trying his best to keep his composure together, "She's like um…a student to me, you know?"

            My mind instantly creates hundreds of ways I can twist that sentence around, but I prefer not to. I'm still a brilliant, calculating strategist and trainer, but I'm also Ash's friend again. 

            "I'm sure she is. So tell me, how long have you been together now?" I ask with a smug grin, knowing that he'll answer my question purely by mistake.

            "Two month-hey!"

            "Two months, huh? Seems like just yesterday that you were more interested in Pokémon then girls."

            A frown appears on his face. "I resent that!"

            I smile. "Seriously though, you've grown up Ash. You're dating a nice girl, and you're about to go off into the Hoenn League Tournament. You've done it, my friend."

            He looks at me with curious eyes, as if he's wondering what I meant by that last line.

            "What does that last line mean?" he asks plainly, his denseness getting the better of him.

            I sigh and put my hand to my head. "Don't you remember the dream that you, Green, and I set out to accomplish? Back when we were little kids?"

            Ash looks at me funny for a few seconds, until realization hits him like it usually does. "Oh yeah…the dream…"

            There's a dreamy look in his eyes, no doubt because he's trying his best to recall what it was about-

            "Green…I mean, Julia…didn't exactly have the same dream, Gary." he says softly, his voice filled with a tinge of pain.

            What was he talking about? Of course she had the…oh…

            I glance towards the floor, ashamed that I had actually forgotten why Julia went on her pokémon journey in the first place. She had gone on her journey to find herself, unlike myself and Ash, who were in it for the pokémon, the adventure, and maybe a little bit of the fame that comes from being a pokémon master…

            "Do you ever think that she did it?" I ask suddenly, "Do you think she found what she was looking for?"

            Neither of us has seen her since we started our pokémon journeys, but both of us thought about her a lot. The three of us used to be the best of friends after all…

            "I think…" he ponders aloud, "I think she did. Wherever she is right now…I think she's happy. I think she's found what she's been looking for, all this time. Out of all of us, I think she's find her dream…"

            A smile manages to find itself on my face. Sometimes Ash could be dense, but it's nice to know that every now and then he can say things like that.

            "Speaking of dreams, how do you think our individual lives have turned out? Do you think we accomplished our dreams?" I ask good naturedly, curious to know what he thought.

            "I think I'm almost there. I have a sweet girlfriend, best friends from all over the islands, and lots of pokémon. I'm not a pokémon master, but you know…I don't really mind." he says, hands in his pockets and his legs swinging back and forth on the couch, "all I've got to do left is get married, have some kids…"

            "Whoa, whoa, whoa…did you say that you don't really mind not being a pokémon master, Ash?" I interrupted, shocked by this revelation. That had been his dream for so long…and now he doesn't mind that he won't accomplish it…?

            "After placing 16th in Kanto, and 8th in Johto, I'll be content just placing 4th in Hoenn, you know? I'm not really aiming for the top anymore, because there's more important things in life…just like how you've decided to follow in your grandfather's footsteps, instead of becoming number one…"

            He was right…I also abandoned my dream of becoming number one, because it didn't appeal to me anymore. The thrill of beating Ash was no longer there, because we both became equals. I decided that I wanted to become a pokémon researcher, since I would be able to understand Pokémon more, as well as make my grandfather proud of me for a change…

            I wonder…what would life be like if Ash and I hadn't drifted apart when Green left? Would we have traveled together? Would we have battled together? Would we have found Green on our journey? Would we become pokémon masters? Would we-

            "I better head on out…May and Brock are cooking dinner and I wouldn't want to be late." he says, as he picks himself off the couch and dusts himself off, "How about joining us, Gary? There's going to be plenty of food, and I'd love it if you could meet May in person."

            A year ago I would've scoffed at his request and tell him I had better things to do, but things were different now. I was no longer a jerk, and Ash was no longer immature. We're like…grown ups now, except with the occasional bouts of angst and despair.

            It takes me only moments to decide before I shut off the computer I had been working on and join him. "I just hope you don't eat all the food like you used to back in school!"

            "Hey!" he shouts, as I run out of the house at full speed, with him trying his best to catch up.

            As his house comes into view, I feel an overwhelming sense of happiness. It's too late to travel him on his journeys through Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, but it's nice to know that no matter how much I may have changed, I can always count on Ash being a friend to the end.

-                       **End**                  -

            This is just a short story to satisfy my need to show Gary in a positive light, since he and Ash have patched things up now. Hopefully everyone who read this little drabble enjoyed it!

            Ash is Red, Gary is Blue, and Julia is Green. Symbolism, yo. Gary is Blue because the Blue version of the game was the most popular, Ash is Red because it was the first, and Julia is Green because her game was forgotten, overshadowed by the other two. There is no official English name for Green in the manga, so I simply gave her the name Julia. 

**Next stories (in no particular order):**

**Destiny** - Being the Chosen One can be lonely.  
  
**Doom Desire** - Wishing can be dangerous...especially when that wish is granted...  
  
**Deal** - Misty and Gary make a deal.  
  
**Dad** - Ash meets his father.  
  
**Duplicate** - Duplica follows Ash in very disturbing way.  
  
**Death** - May deals with the death of Torchic, and reflects on everything she's done, while on Mt. Pyre...  
  
**Disturbing** - Ash finds out that Misty is cheating on him with Brock.  
  
**Dream** - After losing Ash to Misty, May dreams...


End file.
